Chapter Text
It was still strange for Rumi to showcase her demon markings so openly.
Having them out and exposed around Mira and Zoey was one thing, but being seen by the ever-growing number of Huntrix fans was something else entirely.
The buzz following their performance at the Idol Awards and the Saja Boys final performance had been overwhelming. For the fans, it wasn’t just a show, it was the beginning of a new era. Headline after headline, post after post, their performance wasn’t just the talk of the town… it was the talk of the world.
Huntrix Wows Fans with Jaw-Dropping Special Effects at Idol Awards!
PR Stunt of the Century? How Huntrix is Shaking Up the K-Pop Scene
Huntrix’s Rumi Debuts Bold New Tattoos in Show-Stopping Idol Awards Performance
Saja Boys Disappear: Breakup Rumours or a Mastermind PR Move?
From Heartbreak to Harmony: How Huntrix’s New Era is Sparking a Transformation
Where Are the Saja Boys? Fans Question Sudden Disappearance
Rumi had tried not to pay too much attention to the media, but that was easier said than done when the world seemed obsessed with dissecting the mind-boggling show they’d put on, or with how Bobby kept gushing over the new song they’d “premiered” at the Saja Boys’ concert, calling the ballad a possible anthem of the decade.
"Such a great idea, girls! Premiering the song in collaboration with the Saja Boys on the night of their final performance? Brilliant! Strange for the boys to offer to share the spotlight, though… Especially with their sudden disbandment.” Bobby had raved in the days after the show.
Oh, if only he knew...
Huntrix was bigger than ever. Their bond as a team had never been stronger, and they’d faced fewer demons in the past few months than ever before. Rumi knew she should be happy, raving and celebrating like Mira and Zoey still were, as if they were still riding the high of their performance from months ago.
Everything was great, perfect even.
So then, why did her heart feel like it was being weighed down by rocks? Why did it feel as though there was an ache in her bones that no amount of time at the bathhouse could remedy?
It was as if something inside her had been quietly splintering, not loudly enough to break, but just enough to make every breath feel heavier. Her chest was a hollow cage, echoing with a presence she couldn’t name, and the silence left behind rang louder than applause ever could. She should’ve felt triumphant… but all she could feel was the slow, steady sinking of something unfinished, something lost.
And Rumi had no idea how to pull herself out of this agony — a hollow, gnawing ache she had no name for, no explanation, no reason she could wrap her mind around. Her heart twisted under a weight she couldn’t justify, except for the one truth she couldn’t bear to acknowledge. The one she buried beneath layers of distraction and denial.
It haunted her dreams every night.
Two soft, sorrowful golden eyes, wide and cat-like, glowing with delicate tension, staring back at her; brimming with everything he wanted to say but never could. They shimmered like liquid light, deep and dark and endlessly aching. And framing them were jagged, branching markings etched into his skin, glowing violet like the ones that curled along her own.
Marks that pulsed like memories; shared, unfinished, and quietly unbearable.
Rumi had long grown accustomed to the dreams that tore her from sleep in the dead of night, her body slick with sweat, dampening the sheets beneath her. Her heart would pound against her ribs like a trapped thing, not just startled, but searching. It felt less like she was waking from something terrifying, and more like she was being pulled from something unfinished.
As if her heart wasn’t running from danger… but desperately trying to run toward something just out of reach.
Something familiar.
Something lost.